A few (very) random thoughts

I see where our esteemed (mostly by con artists and Ponzi Scheme merchants)

Members of Congress have, once again, voted to increase our nation’s debt limit. This gives rise to the idea that, instead of living within our means, we should all approach our credit card companies and ask that, whenever we reach our limit, they simply extend it. We’ll all promise to pay it off, too. Sooner or later.

Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we would be paying reverence to our elected “leaders” by following their example. What could go wrong?

­— Does anyone remember a time when food wasn’t something to be counted, weighed, measured, scooped, divided, apportioned, and allotted until you were so sick of doing any or all of the above, you just went out and hammered down (“Hold the cherry, please. I’m on a diet.”) a banana split?

As others have previously stated, if one suffers from “Dunlop’s disease” — the condition wherein one’s belly has “done lopped” over one’s belt — there’s a sure-fire method to lose weight. Eat less. Move around more. As long as the laws of physics govern the universe, this one will work. Bet the ranch on it.

— Does anyone else think that midnight’s always a good time to head home? It sure seems that, after midnight, trouble’s out and about and, even with fewer people on the streets, the chances of finding it rise dramatically.

– Governor Jay Inslee recently declared a moratorium on the death penalty in the state of Washington. Not while he’s in charge sayeth the good governor.

I understand the politics of that stance, the (self-incurred) costs of imposing and pursuing such a sentence, the finality of “getting it wrong,” and the sincere opposition that many have to that sentence.

That said, I hope they understand that just as many others believe that, in instances where there can be no doubt as to the identity of the perpetrator of some act that’s too horrible to contemplate and, after a fair trial and timely appeals, that same individual should be sent to the hell he or she so richly deserves.

Further, it matters not a whit whether it serves as a deterrent to others. Rather, as Mr. Richard Quint of Lake Stevens so aptly stated in a recent letter to the editor, “you cannot dispute that it eliminates recidivism.”

If that doesn’t give you a moment’s pause, ask yourself if you’d like to be on Byron Scherf’s guard detail, knowing that he now has absolutely nothing to lose by taking a shot at you.

– Watching the news of the storms that have paralyzed — most notably — Atlanta and other parts of the nation, it made me think that it’d be a good idea to, yet again, make sure that we had enough food, water, fuel, and tools handy to weather several days of trouble.

Seeing the stories of abandoned cars, people being stranded for more than 24 hours or walking miles through snow and ice, and store shelves being picked clean of even Brussels sprouts, it makes sense to be sure that a few days worth of essentials are handy. And that would include having supplies and an emergency kit in the car.

My wife and I are enjoying the Winter Olympics even though we sometimes wonder how 60-degree temperatures, bare hillsides, and manufactured snow are affecting the term “Winter” in that title.

Too, it’s been a reminder that the old saying of (I’m paraphrasing here) “age and experience will always overcome youth and skill” is not always true. We, being in the prime of our adulthood, were hopeful that Olympians like — to name just two — Shaun White in snowboarding and Shani Davis in speed skating could win gold medals in their respective events. Both had already won gold in two previous Olympic games.

However, while still being comparatively young, they both fell to the “kids” coming up behind them. Young, fearless, skillful and ready, those kids went out and beat their idols. Time, as always, proved to be the ultimate arbiter. Sigh.